
(If you are wondering why I’m writing about Chinese baseball, check the previous post. Also, I put most of the pictures at the bottom of this post. Lastly, take note of the intricate details of Team China’s uniforms in the header image.) My brother and I were excited to start learning about Chinese baseball, and hopefully watch one of the Huge Horses’ star players in action. Team China would be playing against Germany, Brazil, and Colombia over 3 days at the beginning of March, so we planned a road trip to Tucson to watch. (We did some climbing at Mt. Lemmon and Priest Draw, but this isn’t a climbing post…it’s a baseball post.) The top two teams from this tournament would qualify for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which is somewhat analogous to soccer’s World Cup but far less prestigious. We didn’t know what to expect, exactly, but let’s say we weren’t about to bet the farm on Team China to win the tournament against teams with current and former MLB players. The Tucson Tournament 2 brothers watched 2 games a day for 3 days, which was 12 tickets at a total cost of about $240 (general admission tickets were $15, but for the China games we sprung for the $25 seats behind home plate…in contrast, you can pay $25 to sit in the outfield grass at a minor league ballpark and watch the Oakland Athletics. And it costs at least $25 to park your car.). Games were at 11AM…